Monday, November 8, 2010

The reality of a house.

We do have a house in Seri Iskandar Perak which we never stay even for a day. It has been rented out for years. Before we can really stay in a house we can call our own, we do have to hop around, renting houses again and again. For three years we have been calling that nice semi detached bungalow in Putrajaya as home, now is a cute 4 bed room single storey little house in Tanah Merah, Kelantan. The house is new. I am thinking whether buying is the better option than just renting....

front view, more on left side

front view, more on right side

the left side of the house

the left side, closer.

at the back of the house

I have to wait for a week or so for water and electricity to be in, so in the meantime I have to put up with temporary accommodation, thanks to Wan Azlan for his kindness. Kakdah and the rest will stay in Bangi until the boys finish their studies or when the two think they are alright to be on their own. Abang Long, Abang Din and Abang Man had been checking on me, if I am alright here. Honestly I am not here to die but to continue living with some decent legacy to leave behind, at least on my gardening adventure. Government has been yelling about agrotech, I may just grab and see it through. Haha.. I am already eying on a six acre oil palm plot not far away.

The space around the house is quite a handful for another gardening adventure. I am aware of Kelantan unique weather, very much closer to Thailand and having the large South China Sea as it's waterfront. For Kakdah, going to Kelantan is like coming home, looking for the long lost roots. She is a third generation Kelantanese. Her grandfather and grandmother moved down to Sitiawan years ago from Pintu Geng area. She still has some relatives around here. For me, the root is Kedah as Wan Mat Saman fourth generation. Venturing out of one's cocoon has been the trademark on both sides, for better or for worse. But the whole big place called Earth is for everyone to go about and settle down, to learn and to live.

I did some mental sketches, on the eventual look of my little vegetable garden in Tanah Merah. I hope it will develop into something unique, rich and memorable. First, I have to tame the soil of kelantan and the weather too , before I get too complacent. The other day I saw an elderly digging nearby which tickled my gardening passion. He will soon be my gardening associate... or friend... or pal.

To those who may wonder if the flood here has any of my tears, rest assured that everything is perfectly alright. I am coming home and my little vegetable will stay. Tasya and her family can drive up here and bring along the eldest, which I hear a lot but never see and hold. Yanti being a Kelantanese too, may want to drop by and check if Tanah Merah is really that red. Ustaz, Zaki, Wan Zainudin and many others are true sons of Kelantan and I may need them for protection against thugs or gedebe !... haha

20 comments:

Congratulations Bangchik for your new acquisition. I don't know where that is, but i've been to the suburbs of Putrajaya and i love the vicinity. My friend near UKM has a nice place there also. We will wait for your new vegetable gardening adventures.

Why renting, when you have a house of your own or Kelantan is your new posting...my mistake I thought you are a retiree :)Anyway this new house has potential, with your green fingers, soon it will be looking grand with vegetables n flowers in abundance n be the envy of yr new neighbours! Enjoy yr day!

Dear Bangchik...you are always so wonderfully optimistic and positive, with an attitude that glows with enthusiasim! I'm looking forward to seeing your new garden come forth out of the new soil...and your photos, of garden, vegetables, wildlife and nature in general! It is so interesting to learn about people in other lands, to understand their culture better, to see the similarities between us, as well as the difference...thank you Bangchik for sharing your life through your garden!

Theanne and Baron...: thanks for the compliments. It is not easy to start all over again, but the passion simply would not go away.. haha.

Malar: I am alright with vegetables, but flowers is more of Kakdah's territory.... She has to chip in with ideas.

Milka: I got stuck with standard design, with patterns very much geometrical in nature. The new vegetable plot is a SQUARE!!

Catmint: I really have to go a little slow on vegetable. There will be monsoon coming in December, and most leafy veggie cant survive in such pounding rainfall. I may just resort to container for a while.

Pam: Leaving a sweet neighbourhood in Putrajaya is sad, but the new place is quite unique. People here are quite nice. They may soon wonder why this man is so absorbed with vegetable gardening!!

Bang Chik, your enthusiasm is to be emulated! I love how you immediately jump start your gardening interest in the new place. I have been slacking lately due to work. But I find your enthusiasm contagious. As the weekend is here, it's time for my garden to be revived again!